Matthew
22:15-22
Pharisees
Ask Jesus about Paying
Taxes
Matthew
22:15 Then the Pharisees went out
and laid plans to trap him in his
words.
16
They sent their disciples to him
along with the Herodians.
"Teacher," they said, "we know
you are a man of integrity and
that you teach the way of God in
accordance with the truth. You
aren't swayed by men, because you
pay no attention to who they are.
17Tell us then, what is your
opinion? Is it right to pay taxes
to Caesar or not?"
18
But Jesus, knowing their evil
intent, said, "You hypocrites,
why are you trying to trap me?
19Show me the coin used for
paying the tax." They brought him
a denarius, 20and he asked them,
"Whose portrait is this? And
whose inscription?"
21
"Caesar's," they replied.
Then he said to them, "Give
to Caesar what is Caesar's, and
to God what is God's."
22
When they heard this, they were
amazed. So they left him and went
away.
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is
meant to change the way that we
think, and the way that we live.
Commentary
by Bob
Pardue
Paying
Taxes to Caesar ( and to our
Government )
- During
the time of Jesus' ministry,
the Jews were living under
Roman rule.
-
- Rome
had a unique way of ruling
it's people. They pretty much
left the people alone as long
as they obeyed Roman law and
paid their taxes to
Caesar.
-
- In
turn, there was a period of
relative peace in the Roman
Empire. The two simple rules
were ...
-
- 1. Obey
the Roman law or
die
-
- 2. Pay
your tax or die
-
- ...
Didn't leave much to the
imagination but it worked for
them.
-
- The
Pharisees and other religious
groups opposed the occupation
of Rome and their
policies.
-
- Most
times the Pharisees and the
Roman rulers were mortal
enemies but they were in sync
when it came to this man
Jesus.
-
- On the
subject of Roman taxes, in
their mind, they had a plan
that could not fail. They were
about to catch Jesus in a
no-win situation.
-
- But, as
always, Christ knew exactly
what they were up to.
-
- He
could not answer directly
because if he said the money
belonged to Caesar he would be
speaking against the religious
aspects because some of the
money went to support Roman
temples and to people who
worshiped idols.
-
- On the
other hand, if he answered
that the tax money belonged to
God he would be turned over to
the Romans. There would be a
good chance he would be be
given option number two
above.
-
- In
reality, what this story tells
us is that we belong to two
nations ...
-
- 1. The
nation in which we are
citizens. This nation requires
taxes to support civil
programs, defense and the
everyday workings of our
government.
-
- 2. The
nation of God in which we give
obedience to His word. In
return, we receive God's
blessing, forgiveness and
eternal life.
-
- So, be
sure and pledge allegiance to
both but be sure to remain a
citizen of heaven.
-
-
- Love in
Christ
-
Bob
If you have
never made the commitment to
receive the love and
life-changing experience of Jesus
Christ, please take a moment to
go
here
and take the first
steps
to salvation.
Bob
Pardue
is a member of First
Baptist
Church
in Lancaster, SC. He is ordained
from Rich Hill Baptist in
Lancaster.
Want
to place this passage and
commentary on your website or
e-zine for
content?
This
article about Jesus and the
wedding party may be freely
reprinted or distributed in its
entirety in any e-zine,
newsletter, blog, or website. The
author's name, bio, credits and
website links must remain
intact and be included
with every reproduction.
Bob
Verses are from Life
Application Study Bible: New
International Version
Comments are welcome.
Please email
me with any questions
or comments you may have.
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